Tradition and Innovation: Metaphor in Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

Philosophy aspires to be a radical discipline, with the power to critique existing social structures. However, the practice of philosophy as a discipline seems to be quite conservative, especially insofar as the terms of the discipline are established by a canon of philosophers from the past. How can philosophy be at once conservative and critical in these ways? The answer is that philosophers reinterpret the language they inherit in ways that both honor its older meanings and introduce new ones.